Stripping Volatile Organic Compounds and Petroleum Hydrocarbons from Water by Tray Aeration.
Abstract:
Volatile organic compounds VOCS and petroleum products are ubiquitous groundwater contaminants. Petroleum products, e.g., diesel fuel, contain a wide array of volatile, semivolatile, and long chain hydrocarbon compounds. This research sought to determine whether air stripping can provide a site specific treatment solution for petroleum contaminated groundwaters and to document the abilities and limitations of tray type Shallow Tray air stripping technology. Full factorial experimental trials were conducted to determine the influence of inlet water flow rate and temperature on trichloroethylene TCE, perchloroethylene PCE and total petroleum hydrocarbon TPH removal. As expected, TPH removal controlled air stripper performance, and liquid temperature affected removal more than flow rate. The mass transfer rate of TCE and PCE from water to air was controlled by the compounds volatility, while the TPH mass transfer rate was controlled by the compounds concentration gradient. Results indicate that economical air stripping of VOC and TPH compounds can be achieved using low liquid flow rates 20-75 Lmin and medium liquid temperatures 16-28 deg C in tray type air strippers.